THE VIOLENCE BENEATH

The title track is nothing special-it's a decently rollicking atmospheric sludge track, although it hems a little too close to the template set by Neurosis to truly excite. The second track picks things up, providing a more sweeping backdrop by effectively utilizing the quiet/loud dynamic and downtuned shoegaze riffs that this genre requires to retain interest. The third track, a live number, will provoke more or less the same reaction that the first track did, that is, that you are listening to something serviceable but nothing special. So what boosts this from a three star release to a four star one?

Simple: The cover of Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes". All the mystic beauty of the original single is intact and amplified by crushing atmospherics and ghostly vocals that turn the track into what I can only describe as a dirge for a wedding. It's psychedelic and brutal and gorgeous and not only does it surpass Gabriel's original version(and I say that as a HUGE fan of the original version), it also serves as a benchmark for the level of feeling you can squeeze out of a genre as typically cold and intimidating as post-metal.

So...two okay tracks, one good one, and one unskippable masterpiece, clocking in for a total of 32 minutes? I'd say that's worth four bucks, wouldn't you?